Rasheed Sulaimon

Thanks to #14 overall prospect Rasheed Sulaimon for doing the interview with us. Sulaimon is a shooting guard out of Houston, Texas who goes to Strake Jesuit College Prep and stands at 6’3”, 175.

What is your favorite and least favorite part of being recruited?

My favorite would definitely be talking to all the head coaches on the phone and in person. You can see all those legendary coaches on TV and to communicate with them is really exciting. My least favorite would probably be the constant phone calls. Coaches only get one phone call a month and when they get you on the phones, they can talk a lot.

Why did you choose to commit to Duke? What about them attracted you to the program?

I chose to commit to Duke for a number of reasons. My family and I are very high on academics, so besides Coach K, that was the reason I chose to play at Duke along with the great campus atmosphere. With Duke you already know you’re going to get great basketball.

Why did you choose to commit so early?

Everything just felt right. I went earlier without my parents and really liked it. So when my parents experienced the same feelings that I felt, I knew that Duke was the place for me. I was 100% sure so I didn’t think there was any need to wait.

Who has helped you the most in basketball?

I would have to say my father. He doesn’t know much about basketball but he sacrifices so much to help me get the training I need to help me get better. Everyday after school he takes me to workouts.

What has basketball taught you off the court and in life?

Basketball has taught me that hard work pays off. No matter what you do, you have to work hard to achieve your goals and to have success.

Why do you play basketball?

I play basketball simply for the love of it. I’ve been playing basketball for as long as I can remember so if I didn’t love the game, I would have quit a long time ago because it would have gotten boring.

What do you think you need to improve on and what are you doing to get better at those things?

I think the things that I really have to improve on, especially if I want to have a positive impact at the next level, is my strength and speed. I’m working in the gym everyday to improve on those areas such as using resistant bands and lifting weights.

What’s your favorite memory in basketball?

My favorite memory came this year actually. We had a close game against our district rivals Morton Ranch for the district championship. We lost to them the first time so the game had a lot of meaning to us. With the clock hitting zero, I made a floater over two defenders to give us the district championship.

What’s your favorite thing about basketball?

My favorite thing would be playing on the big stage under the bright lights. I love games that are very competitive against a good opponent. Those are when I seem to play my best.

Do you have any funny or interesting recruiting stories?

When I went to duke my first time, one of the duke fans ask for my autograph. That in itself was very surreal, but when I turned around, the guy that asked me for an autograph had a big poster of me when I was about 13 years old at a Texas A&M camp. That was very exciting and I didn’t even know what to do. Finally after I took a minute to take it all in, I signed it (laughing).

We post our interviews with the top prospects every Monday so look every week to check them out.